M14 sighting issue

NewAgeRanger

NewAgeRanger

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Bit of a lengthy story, and I apologize if this issue has been brought up before.

I'm pretty new to firearms and after shooting my beloved sr-22 for about a year I decided I needed a real man's rifle! The choices were plentiful, but after reading through the forums, (and Boston's gun bible) I decided that an M14 was the only way to go. And for $500 all in there was no other choice. So I purchased a new Norinco m14 from wanstalls (btw shipping was cheap and FAST. thanks wanstalls!)

I finally had a chance to take it out and sight it in, I could barely contain my excitement! The first thing I did (after cleaning off all the cosmoline, and field stripping/greasing etc) was center both sights. First shot was WAY right, so I moved the front sight to the right. Second shot, still way right. So I moved the front sight ALL the way to the right. Now I was getting closer. But now it just didnt look right. So I held the rifle at arms length and looked down the sights. holy crap I thought! the front sight is as crooked as a dog's hind leg! it appeared significantly canted to the left.

So what's the best thing to do here? can I just rotate the front sight/flashhider to the right. Or do I need to get my barrel re-indexed? hope I'm not d:h: with this one

Thanks CGNer's,

NewAgeRanger
 
The front sights on these can have a couple of issues .
Is the sight base milled at an angle or is the whole sight and flashider tilted to the right as you look from the receiver end ?

If the base is milled straight and the whole sight and base are tilted to the right then the barrel is under tightened onto the receiver and needs to be indexed . You have to tighten the receiver onto the barrel if it us under tightened as the flashider is attached to the barrel in slots and doesnt rotate. Not a big deal if you can get a barrel vice . Check the past threads as someone on here made his own out of 2 peices of wood . It takes alot of force to move the receiver into the correct position.

Here are a few pics of when Hungry showed me how to do mine .. In the pics below I had to pull down on the wrench to tighten the receiver onto the barrel
DSC02938.jpg

DSC02939.jpg


using 2 peices of metal attached as shown as indicators.... you rotate the receiver into the proper alignment with the barrel
indexingpic.jpg

indexingpic1.jpg
 
On my M14s, there was an index mark for the front sight from the factory which was marking the 'correct' place for the front sight index. The sight was off to the right on both, but not by much. On one of them, the peep was drilled low and off centre in the rear sight, and on that rifle the front sight needed to be adjusted off the index mark, leading me to think the front sight was indexed to the barrel alone.

the flash hider basically has no adjustment available to you, it is splined on to a fixed relation to the barrel, and may indeed be spot welded on (as it is on most full length barrels).

how is your rear sight? is the peep hole centered? if not, a GI rear sight aperture alone is about $10, and will drop right into the Norinco sight assembly (although upgrading the whole rear sight to GI or Beretta is worthwhile IMHO, brownells.com or treelinem14.com can help).

Indexing the barrel is not hard, but you do need an action/receiver vise and barrel wrench. checking the indexing only requires a couple of long straight edges, and I am sure there is a post here, a youtube video or whatever you can find that will show you how.

At a recent YVR area clinic, I think 100% of the 10 or so M14s present required some degree of indexing, all being out of whack to some degree. AFAIK, all were able to be sighted in before the indexing.
 
thanks chalkriver!
You were right on your first point. I looked very closely at it and it has definitely been milled at a significant angle to the left. phooey!

Now what to do? thinking maybe a gaslock/sight is a better way to go... me wanty
 
I'm starting to think its a better idea to completely remove the barrel, clean the threads with a wire brush, apply some anti seize or grease and reinstall the barrel to the correct position. My barrels are on so tight, its no wonder they couldn't accurately index them. I found with clean threads and anti seize the required torque was much less and the end result better.
 
Is it the base or the front sight that is milled on an angle ? Look for a replacement on the EE .... I have a new front flashider with bayo lug that I took off my new shorty ...never used that I will sell you for $45 plus shipping if you want.
The problem with the gas lock front sights is that you can screw up the zeroing of the rifle when you unscrew the gas lock .
 
Chalk is wise in the ways of the m14, and Captian of team Norinco Plinko. The gas lock sights do look slick, but they are not cheap and you would then be stuck with a not so great flashider with a funky looking dovetail on the top.( unless you file it off.)

Does the gas system align properly?
 
Didn't notice it mentionned in this thread, but there is a setscrew in the right side of the receiver ring which engages the barrel. Get this fool thing out before trying to adjust the barrel/receiver alignment.
Also, when using the front sight base with a straight edge for alignment - the front sight unit has to be a good one - not off on an angle.
 
Yea the gas system lines up nicely, but the front sight looks like it's been milled by a drunk chimpanzee waiting for his smoke break. Field stripping is something I do very frequently so a gaslock/front sight is out of the question. I guess a new flashhider/front sight is in order. Choices choices...

Thanks dooders fer yer help

Hey chalk if you're the norinco plinko, then who's the norc dork?
 
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